Translate

Friday, December 13, 2013

Last Letters from Nazi Germany - 1938-39


Excerpt from the introduction:

In 2002 after my mother, Hilde Speier Aron, died, I found a small red plaid stationery box among her effects. Inside were several handwritten letters, folded in quarters, in German. A quick look told me they were from her mother in Borken (Hessen) during 1938-39.  At the time, I could not emotionally handle their contents so I closed the box and put it away, not knowing if I would ever read them, but knowing that someday I would need to deal with them...

The link below leads to a description of the letters and a translation.  Transcription of the original letters was kindly done by Hans-Peter Klein of Melsungen, Hessen, Germany.  Here are some excerpts from his comments as the finished this effort:

"It is very moving to read the letters and these are important and impressive documents of jewish life in the 30['s]"

"I couldn't stop reading and writing when I've seen the first letters. All the letters together are a very moving story about... a long distance mothering, and about a desperate attempt to get a permit to leave Germany. It is a very rare and authentic document in terms of content and stylistically. When I read the letters I remembered the title of a book written by Halina Birenbaum, a shoa surviver: The hope dies at last (Die Hoffnung stirbt zuletzt.)."

Letters from my Perished Jewish grandparents in Nazi Germany - 1938-39

Rosenbusch family of Borken

No comments:

Post a Comment